Bar: Legends Bar
Address: 6 W 33rd St, New York, NY 10001
Score: 7.8/10
With the Champions League final wrapping up over the weekend and Chelsea being the first club to win it all, it felt fitting to take a trip to Legends, a soccer bar in New York City that just happens to be a Chelsea bar. And yes, I will be referring to it as soccer, because I’m from America, and we only care about ourselves.
On our trip, we were with a fellow who was a Chelsea fan, and he wanted to watch the game. So we did our research of soccer bars and found Legends, which we learned was a Chelsea bar so it seemed like the obvious choice to watch the game there. We thought it would be really fun to catch a game where a mass amount of people go to support their club, and it was a reason to start drinking at 8am. So who was I to say no.
Walking in there was already a large group standing on the main floor ready to support the boys in Blue. If you eliminated all the people, and just looked at the decor, you might get the idea it’s a bit of a “nicer” establishment. All wood bars and tables, chandeliers, and lantern type lights line the bar top. But walking in, it was the exact opposite atmosphere. Loud conversations, people hovering around the bar ready to order drinks. An absolute biblical scene for a morning drinking session.
As you walk towards the back, there’s a set of stairs that lead to an upstairs area with additional seating and another bar. We were fortunate enough to somehow secure a table for all of us as many people were opting to stand. I quickly found out many people chose to stand as they did not have a waitress for that section in the morning, and you had to order from the bar. I just so happened to be at the end of the table right next to the end of the bar, and didn’t even need to stand to order a drink. The bartender and I soon established a nice connection, he’d check over and all it took was a nod of my head, and he had an ice cold beer all for me within arms reach.
Once the game started, the atmosphere kicked it up a notch. Chelsea ended up winning, and it was super cool to experience all the chants and camaraderie of the other patrons coming together to support their club. And don’t worry. Even if you dislike soccer, Legends is still an awesome spot for everything. There’s a bunch of TVs hung throughout the building, and they had all different sports. And it wasn’t just people coming together to watch the game and then leave. I would say 80% of the crowd there during the game stayed, and those that did leave were quickly replaced with new members ready to get their day started.
While I highly recommend going to Legends while a Chelsea game is on, this would also be an awesome spot with no Chelsea game being played.
Decor: All wood interior, with sports memorabilia on the walls. There weren’t a ton of beer posters or neon signs like most bars, which was honestly kind of a refreshing feeling.
Price: It’s NYC so nothing is cheap, but I don’t feel as if I got hosed like at some of the other bars in the area.
Service: Didn’t have a waitress but the bartender was on it. Serving a bar packed with customers who are constantly ordering drinks isn’t for the faint of heart. Still got beers faster than most places that are empty.
Atmosphere: Awesome atmosphere especially for the game. It was 10 in the morning, but lively enough that it felt as if people had been there all day into the night. A great spot to come in as they show just about every sports game they can, and provide a super social environment.
High Life Bottle?: Yes!
Bonus Points: None